If you want to support local children’s charities in the Sacramento area, all you need to do is go to the biggest warehouse party in town. The Active 20/30 Club is a Sacramento-area club composed of men between the ages of 20 and 40. The organization’s objective is to assist local children’s charities by raising money for them and hosting their own charitable events with children.

The warehouse party is their biggest and most lucrative fundraiser of the year and it takes about a year to plan. “We appoint our co-chairs for the event in August that plan for the event and each year it takes a lot of planning,” said Active 20/30 Club President Sean Hansen.

Their annual Spring Party is not only Sacramento’s largest all-inclusive legal warehouse party, but it also raises about $25,000. Hansen is very excited for the upcoming event: “We’ve got about 2,500 people there eating, drinking and having a great time. It gets a little crazy,” he said.

Since this party is huge, they take precautions to avoid problems: “We always have security on hand and when people get out of hand they are dealt with really quick[ly] and removed from the party,” Hansen said.

For $40 you receive entry, a beer, a specialty drink which is normally some type of rum punch and you receive access to the rides and activities that go on throughout the night. The rides and activities are blow-up bouncers courtesy of Inflate-The Fun.

Any extra purchases can be made with tokens you purchase at the party. They have a large variety of bars as well as food that can be bought separately from the entry fee.

This party is not your typical kegger in a warehouse. In addition to a ‘premium’ bar and a shot bar there will be three bars that are built to themes designed by current, new, and former 20/30 Club members. The bars are the active member’s bar, the new member’s bar and the past active member’s bar.

“Last year the past actives built their bar like a pirate ship with a moat in front of it. It had cannons that would shoot and a puff of smoke would come out of the cannon and a splash of water would shoot up from the moat. It was just awesome,” Hansen said.

The overall theme for the party last year was Viva Las Vegas so the pirate ship actually represented “Treasure Island.” Pirate ships are not only the only themes; last year Hansen helped to build a 20-foot waterfall that circled their rum punch.

This year, there is not an overall theme. “They have really opened it up so everyone can build to what they want to do,” Hansen said.

Rob Allen, who served as an event co-chair last year, has been a member of the 20/30 Club for 13 years: “It was a huge undertaking that literally took thousands of man hours,” Allen said.

Allen said that Spring Party is a 100 percent philanthropic event. “We actually have to pay $25 to work our own party,” Allen said.

Surprisingly, not too many students have heard about this annual party. “This is the first I have heard of it. I think it sounds like a lot of fun,” said Tim Stewart, sophomore educational deaf studies major. “It’s not ‘sober grad night’ status; it’s actually a fun party.”

Amanda Morish, senior psychology major, agrees that it sounds like fun but does have a valid concern: “It sounds like a great idea and it is pretty innovative but it seems like it might be hard to sell tickets in this tough economy,” Morish said.

For the Active 20/30 Club, this party is the biggest event it does all year. Not only is it the most lucrative but it is a lot of fun. “We really put our hearts and souls into this event,” Hansen said.

This event is just one of many that the organization hosts to raise money. Annually, the club will set up back-to-school and holiday shopping sprees for needy kids and a “Special Kids Family Picnic” where it hosts a picnic for families with children who have severe mental and physical heath disabilities.

The picnic is hosted at Fairytale Town and normally has about 1,300 people in attendance. That number includes not only the children but their families and siblings. “It lets a kid be a kid for a day and play and have fun,” Hansen said. “It also helps the parents realize that other people are going through very similar things.”

The organization will also take challenged elementary school students to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin around Halloween; for children who are receiving cancer treatment at U.C. Davis Medical Center Cancer Ward, it hosts a holiday party.

The majority of the philanthropic events with children are hosted by the club; in the fall and the spring, the club focuses on raising money.

Active 20/30 is an international charity. It was founded in Sacramento in 1922. “We are actually the only international charity that was founded here in town,” Hansen said. “It really is an opportunity for young professionals to get involved in their community and to give back to disadvantaged and disabled kids in their community.”

Every penny that the organization raises goes directly to the charities that need it. None of the members receive any type of salary or stipend for their time or effort. “All the money goes to children rather than a club promoter,” Allen said.

About two weeks ago, the club donated $1,000 to the Special Olympics to support its softball league. “If we can touch their lives and give them a chance, it is money well spent,” Hansen said.

Of all the events and fundraisers the Active 20/30 Clubs hosts throughout the year, the warehouse party is its biggest one and it will fund its benevolent endeavors for the next year. “It gives us the opportunity to really work towards this year’s mission,” Hansen said.

Cozette Roberts can be reached at [email protected]